HAND TO HEART

Patek Philippe's 2025 Rare Handcrafts Collection unveils an explosion of craft, colour, and culture as we've never seen before.

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Every year, Patek Philippe sets the stage for the new horology season with a splendid ode to metiérs d’arts. Named the Rare Handcrafts Collection, it is a significant demonstration of artistry that underscores the 186-year-old house’s role as one of the most eminent guardians of traditional watchmaking crafts.

And even as the full magnitude of novelties from the watch universe unfolds across the months, Patek Philippe’s showcase always remains top-of-mind — especially for the 2025 edition with its sheer breadth and width. Indeed, there is no better candidate than the most prestigious manufacture in Geneva, which is the birthplace of high horology, to safeguard such centuries-old know-how and livelihoods.

Since 2008, Patek Philippe has produced an enviable collection of modern-era pieces all festooned with a plethora of time-honoured crafts. By building upon all its existing savoir-faire and keeping master artisans in its employment, Patek Philippe not only helps preserve these crafts but also allows them to flourish.

Many of these Rare Handcrafts Collection timepieces are one-of-a-kind, given how they are each adorned with rare, extraordinary, and sometimes near-extinct techniques. Needless to say, their sheer exclusivity limits access to the regular watch lover.

Fortunately, the Stern family’s love for time-honoured handcrafts is evident, as such pieces are put on annual display at the Patek Philippe Geneva Salon since 2018.

Avid collectors of enamel watches themselves, the Sterns were among the few brand owners who insisted on preserving this very form of art.

With a burning passion that continues to this day, and a range of technical skills growing stronger each year, Patek Philippe has unveiled its 2025 collection once again at its historic salon on Rue du Rhone, amid live demonstrations by artisan engravers, enamellers, and marquetry makers who are the very keepers of this long and resplendent tradition.